International chess master Josh Waitzkin says his favorite board game is more than child’s play.

“What chess is about is a mechanism for internal growth,” said Waitzkin, a former prodigy who spoke and played at Saturday’s youth tournament in Lawrence. “When you learn a lesson in chess, look for parallels in life.”

About 150 players from Kansas and Missouri competed in a five-round Lawrence Chess Foundation tournament at Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

The main attraction was Waitzkin, whose evolution into a chess wizard was documented in the 1993 movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer.” He spends much of his time now traveling the country as unofficial ambassador of the game.

Waitzkin said Fischer shouldn’t be thought of as his role model. That may surprise some people, because Waitzkin has been referred to as the next Fischer since he was in first grade.

Waitzkin said he viewed Fischer as a “horrible human being.” Fischer became a Cold War hero when he beat Russian Boris Spassky for the world title in 1972. Fischer rarely makes public appearances, but in interviews has praised the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, saying America should be “wiped out.”

Five-year-old Elinton Lee of Kansas City, Mo., ponders a chess move during the Lawrence Chess Foundation's Scholastic Chess Tournament. Chess players young and old converged Saturday at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds for the 18-and-under tournament.

Waitzkin, 26, said a real champion must have inner beauty. He said the person who did much to shape his game was the late writer Jack Kerouac, whose works taught him to seek beauty in every moment.

Managing the transition from recreational player to tournament contender is a delicate balancing act, Waitzkin said. It’s easy for children — and their parents — to become obsessed with winning.

“That’s the tragedy,” he said. “It’s about the struggle, not perfection.”

Waitzkin stumbled across chess at age 6 while on his way to the monkey bars at Washington Square Park in New York City. He stopped to watch a group of men huddled over chess boards. Not long after, he played his first game there.

“I learned by watching,” he said.

Neither Size nor age mattered at the Lawrence Foundation's Scholastic Chess Tournament. Timothy Grady, 17, from Kansas City, Mo., left, was defeated by 10-year-old Lawrence resident Roy Wedge, right, on Saturday at the event at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.

He showed promise from the start, and with the help of a coach won a series of scholastic championships. At age 11, he played to a draw against world champion Garry Kasparov, who was simultaneously playing 58 boards in an exhibition. He said Kasparov later “tore me apart” in a one-on-one rematch on the TV show “Live with Regis and Kathy Lee.”

At 13, Waitzkin earned the title of national master. He was an international master by age 16. He won the U.S. national junior high championship in 1990 and high school championship in 1991. The U.S. junior championship was added in 1994. He also wrote a book, “Attacking Chess.”

He urged children at the tournament to seek out matches against opponents with better skills.

“You have to be willing to lose to grow,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to put yourself on the line.”

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He said the study of chess has a dramatic and positive influence on young people, both academically and personally, and he thinks chess should be part of the curriculum in schools.

“It’s an essential idea,” he said.